LETTERS FROM TOVE HC – TOVE JANSSON-BOEL WESTIN-HELEN SVENSSON-SARAH DEATH

[The letters] cover war, fame and her first infatuation with another woman … all related in a voice that is funny, gracious, intimate The Observer I find myself talking to you about all the great joys, all the agonies, all my thoughts… Letter to Eva Konikova, 1946 Out of the thousands of letters Tove Jansson wrote a cache remains that she addressed to her family, her dearest confidantes, and her lovers, male and female. Into these she spilled her innermost thoughts, defended her ideals and revealed her heart. To read these letters is both an act of startling intimacy and a rare privilege. Penned with grace and humour, Letters from Tove offers an almost seamless commentary on Tove Jansson s life as it unfolds within Helsinki s bohemian circles and her island home. Spanning fifty years between her art studies and the height of Moomin fame, we share with her the bleakness of war; the hopes for love that were dashed and renewed, and her determined attempts to establish herself as an artist. Vivid, inspiring and shining with integrity, Letters from Tove shows precisely how an aspiring and courageous young artist can evolve into a very great one.